Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Purchased by Farmers Trust Co.

Farmers Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 300.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,731 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,301 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Valley Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 588 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 1,873 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maiden Cove Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC now owns 481 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $624.00 to $676.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $627.00 to $525.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $701.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4%

Meta Platforms stock traded down $2.82 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $642.23. 16,230,863 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,491,179. The company has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The company's fifty day moving average price is $578.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $610.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.25, for a total value of $298,418.75. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,453,384. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.00, for a total transaction of $593,124.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,860,580. The trade was a 2.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,664 shares of company stock valued at $35,484,670 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.